When the class of 1976 met for the first time, they instantly bonded.
“We became a family immediately in the fall of 1973,” alum Ruth Sparks said. “I remember that the school hosted a picnic in the park for all of us the first night we arrived. Almost everyone lived in Troyer Hall our first year. At that point in time, we all cooked for ourselves or in small groups in the kitchens on the first and second floor of Troyer Hall. We studied together, ate together, went to school together, and cried and laughed together. Relationships were built very quickly.”
“My most memorable memory is riding an old painted school bus from our dorm to ISU to do our science classes. There weren’t enough seats, so we had folding chairs in the back of the bus. The bus was named Virgil,” Sparks said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Our goal is to be there for each other as a steadfast and loyal support.”
Ruth Sparks, class of 1976
But despite this close bond, life happened. That tight-knit group of students quickly turned into newly minted grads and went out into the world to find careers and start families. In 1976, it wasn’t as easy to stay in touch as it is today.
“When we graduated, there was no social media, email, and none of us had cell phones. Most of us went straight to work, raised our families, and worked as nurses. Life became very busy for most of us,” Sparks said.
Then, forty years later in 2017, a wonderful coincidence occurred that set off a serendipitous chain of events.
“In what can only be described as a God moment, Ruth and I reconnected in 2017,” fellow alum Becky McDevitt said. “My daughter and son-in-law were living outside of Atlanta, GA. My daughter had a baby boy and needed help when she had to return to work, so of course help I did! I happened to be scrolling Facebook and saw Ruth’s name, I ‘friended’ her and, come to find out, she lived less than ten minutes — about four miles — from my daughter! We reconnected immediately, and over the months that I stayed with my daughter, Ruth and I started thinking about trying to reconnect our class. Facebook was a great tool, and once we found a few, then they knew some, and on and on.”
It was decided there was something they had to do: get the gang back together. In the fall of 2021, nearly 45 years after that first picnic in the park in ‘73, 13 of 36 members of the class of ’76 gathered on Sparks’ farm for three days of catching up on each other’s lives. They even let some husbands tag along. They found that more than half of their class still lived in Illinois, and many had ended up in leadership positions and with advanced degrees.
Since that joyous reunion, they’ve found 32 classmates out of 36. Two more had passed away, and they are still looking for the last two.
The class plans to gather every two years and stays in touch in the meantime through social media.
“Our goal, if I were to speak for everyone, is to be there for each other as a steadfast and loyal support. I have found this reconnection to be one of the most amazing blessings ever. I would encourage students to stay in touch throughout their nursing careers. It is a wonderful blessing to remain connected in this way,” Sparks says with a smile.
Wonderful, indeed.
Sparks and McDevitt are still looking to reconnect with two classmates from the Class of 1976. If you have information, please write to us at TheFlame@IllinoisState.edu.
